Family
by Amelia Friend
Summary: Jane and Alec were never alone. There was another there when they burnt. Their sister, Isobel. But she was lost, so many years ago. How can there be hope now? ON HIATUS.
1. Burning

**This is the new revised version of Chapter One (the first half of the original Chapter One anyway). I will get rid of the first three original chapters sooner or later, as soon as I have rewritten them.  
Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to Twilight in any way, shape or form.**

* * *

The sky seemed darker than usual on that winter evening, and even the blazing fire brought no warmth to our little family of four.  
It was my (well, mine and Jane's) twelfth birthday, an important day in the life of any Anglo-Saxon, ourselves included.  
Mother simply sat hunched over in her chair, as close to the fire as possible, the same position she has been in for the almost three months since our father died.

She was giving up.

Father had been her life, but the Sickness had taken him, just as it had taken so many others - three of our brothers and sisters included.

We lay on the bed of straw, myself on the left hand side, furthest from the fire; Jane closest to the fire; and little Isobel between us.  
Almost exactly a year younger than we were, she was one of the few that had caught the Sickness and not died.

It was a blessing and a curse.  
I would never wish death upon my baby sister, but her surviving did nothing but cement the rumours of witchcraft surrounding our family, rumours that had existed since our birth - the only twins born in close to twenty five years.  
We always knew what the other was thinking, and we always knew where the other was.  
We just called it 'twinstinct' - we just looked out for each other.  
They called it 'witchcraft' - and they punished us for it any way they could, they ignored us when Father and the other children were dying, and they shunned us when they were dead.

I fell asleep watching my sisters.  
It did not matter that Jane was older than me (even by only a few moments) I was the man of the house, I had to look after them.

* * *

I awoke the next morning to the smell of burning, but the fire had long since gone out, and it was light outside - there was no need for a fire.  
Unless...  
No.  
_NO!_

I started to shake Jane awake as she woke up anyway, her blue-grey eyes reflecting my fear - she knew as well as I did what was coming.  
Bundling our food quickly into our few blankets, Jane woke little Bella up silently, we worked in perfectly harmony as Bella watched out of the window as the burning torches came ever closer.

We spared a single glance at our motionless Mother, the villagers had no grief with her, they would leave her alone - it was us they wanted.  
Climbing out of the window, we ran for the nearby forest - we knew the forest like the back of our hand - we could lose them there.  
I held the food as Jane never loosened her grip on Bella's hand.

Ten metres.  
Five metres.  
Two metres.  
Bella and Jane were in the bushes of the forest, they were safe now.

A hand brushed against my back and I pushed faster.  
Willing myself to safety.  
Willing myself to my sisters.  
They grabbed me.

A just-turned twelve year old little boy against the farm workers, the grown men who toil manually everyday.  
I wasn't going to escape.  
Mimicking Mother's actions, I went limp in my captors arms, my only thought was for the safety of my sisters.

They were in the forest.  
They were safe.  
"ALEC!" a voice I knew all too well screamed, Jane. She must have just seen me, just realised the fate I had been handed.  
But they knew where she was now, even if they couldn't see her, they could hear her.

And then there was a flash of blonde, she was running again, this time without Bella - obviously hidden well in the undergrowth - they weren't looking for her, and if Bella didn't want to be found, no one would find her - she was special like that.

Each second that passed seemed to last a lifetime, a lifetime of praying for my sister - for her to run, hide, it didn't matter, for her just to _live_.  
But they caught her, they always would have done, it doesn't matter how fast or how far you run.  
If you're declared a witch, they will find you.

* * *

I held her tightly and whispered in her ear as she cried, my big sister, we were to die - the single room we were trapped in only temporary storage until they gather enough fire wood to burn us properly, a hard task especially in mid-winter.  
Our thoughts were focused on our sister, we knew she would not last long alone, without provisions and without protections, she would be lucky to make it longer than we did.

It was three hours later they were ready for us, and despite our earlier breakdown, we wouldn't let them see us cry, even as the women jeered at our faces, and children threw stones at our feet.

Tied to the centre pole side by side, I clasped my big sister's hand as they set the lower branches alight.  
The fire leapt quickly up, until it was licking our ankles, our legs.  
That's when the tears began to fall, and our terrified screams began renew.  
"Alec!" she screamed, over and over again, begging me to do something, anything, to save us from this terrible fate.  
Our clothes caught fire then, and I could no longer feel my feet, though the fires now tickled my hands, as if they were nothing more than a playful animal.

I knew Jane was wishing the most terrible pain on whoever decided this fate for us, the way she always did, I on the other hand, I was the protector, or supposedly anyway - I wished for the pain to end, if we were to pass on to the next life, at least let it be without suffering.

Then there was no more fire, and the screams of my sister were replaced with the screams of all those who watched, all those who tormented us relentlessly.

However it was too late, we were ready to pass on, and I held tighter to Jane's hand, not wanting to ever lose her.  
But the fire came back, all too soon, this time inside our body, and I was screaming again.  
Screaming for Jane, for Isobel, for Father, for Mother, for our brothers and sisters.  
Screaming for the pain to end.

* * *

Less than a hundred metres away, on the edge of snow covered forest, hidden by the evergreen trees, a ten year old little brunette girl turned her red rimmed eyes away from the burning to see a man with crimson irises staring intently at her  
It all happened so fast.  
He was there, and then he was gone.  
And then she was burning with her siblings.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, please review,  
Mia**


	2. Author's Note

**Ok, I just re-read this story, and cringed so bad.**

**The plot is still good (in my opinion anyway) but the actual writing of it needs some serious updating, so I will be re-writing it before reposting it (on this story) chapter by chapter.**

**Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed/favourited this story.**

**Mia.**


	3. Jane? Alec?

**Jane and Alec were never twins. They were triplets. But their sister died centuries ago. Didn't she?**

Alec's POV

There was screaming outside again, and I could smell the burning. Some-one was going to be burnt tonight. I prayed it would not be me, or my sisters. But somehow, I knew that it was. Three sets of twins had been burnt in the last month, accused of being the devil's spawn. We were triplets. If they were the devils spawn, then we were the devil re-incarnated. We had to be got rid of. The burning going stronger. They were heading for us. I ran out the back with my sisters, the heat from the torches and bonfires marring with the cold of December. The youngest of the three of us ran ahead, escaping their grasp. I saw her disappear up a tree. I followed. I reached down for Jane's hand. But it wasn't there. She was older than the two of us, but couldn't keep up. I jumped down from the safety of the tree, and tried to push her up the tree, but we were caught by the mob.

They couldn't find our sister, and we wouldn't tell them where she was. Our parents died when we were young, so we had cared for each other. We were all we had left. The flames licked at my feet while they asked where she was, but we couldn't, and wouldn't answer. We kept our silence until the flames caught onto Jane's skirt, "Alec!" she screamed, terrified. She may be the oldest but I was the male, I should be able to care for my sisters. I started pleading while the flames made their way up Jane's skirt; she was alternating between screaming and crying. Then the flames disappeared, along with the villages.

But one fire was replaced by another, fire in my veins. I could feel my body dying, and screamed along with my sister. My last human thought was of the sister we were leaving behind. Isabella.

Isabella's POV

I watched as my brother and sister were taken by the mob. I wanted to jump down and free them, but I was a fourteen year old girl, I couldn't take on all the men from the village. They weren't telling where I was, so it wouldn't do any good to sacrifice myself. As Jane started to scream, I realised they had lost interest in me, I made my way down from the tree. But I wasn't watching where I was going, I slipped and fell through the frozen lake. I would join my siblings in heaven.

Only minutes later I was pulled out the lake. I was freezing cold, more cold than I should be if I had been in for only minutes. Someone asked my name, "I…Bella." The person smiled.

"My name's Emily." I was confused. There was no Emily in my village, and anyway, Emily was a girl's name. She was wearing trousers, she couldn't be called Emily. I must have mis-heard. "We need to warm her up. Sam?" I was picked up, and faded into unconsciousness.

Jane's POV

The end of another day at Volterra. I looked into the mirror in mine and Alec's shared room, then at the third bed we'd insisted on having. Just because Isabella was dead, long dead, didn't mean we had to forget her. That night I lay in bed like almost every other night, drying sobbing for our sister in Alec's arms.

**Like it? Please R&R.**


	4. Crying for you

**This is set about four months later, when Bella has partially learn modern things. The story will be set partway through Eclipse (newborns in Seattle *spoiler*). No Cullens. Jacob + smaller pack are still shape-shifters, because of Victoria, James and Laurent. Charlie adopted Bella, will not see Renee or Phil.**

**Chapter One**

Isabella's POV

Charlie was reading the newspaper, it told him what was happening, even miles and miles away. He had a worried look on his face, I asked him why, and he just handed me the newspaper. I tried, I really did, but I've only been learnin to read for a few months, so it was mostly just black squiggles on. I pushed it back to him.

"Can't read it," I muttered quietly. He smiled but it was slightly forced, not because of something I said I hope. "Give it here then," he said, "I'll read it for you." He took it and started to read aloud. "Death toll on the rise. Police fear gang activity..." he continued reading, but I sort-of ignored him, I knew what it was. Witchcraft. No human is able to kill like that. Do burnings still happen?

I heard five names, "...Maureen Gardiner, Geoffrey Campbell, Grace Razi, Michelle O'Connor, Ronald Albrook. May their souls rest in peace." But they wouldn't. Until their killer was brought to justice, they would remain in a void, watching us, but not bein seen. That's what Alec said, and he's always right.

Jane's POV

We were called, me and Alec, to the main hall. Aro wanted to see us, along with Felix and Demetri. There is a newborns being created in Seattle of all places, why would you want to target _Seattle?_ Anyway, we were told to moniter the situation, and, if it got worse, eliminate all the newborns, and their creator(s). Something told me we would be away from Volterra for quite a while. At least Seattle was fairly cloudy.

When I got back to my room, I picked up the one thing we had of our sister, her bonnet, a single piece of cloth that smells less and less of her, and more of us every time I smell it, it's a wonder its kept its scent for this long anyway.

As Alec walked into the room I started dry sobbing again. America brought back to many memories, it was where we were born, raised. It was where Isabella died, thinking we had too, we think she killed herself that night, for, however hard we tried, we could find any mention of her after then again. Everyone assumed she had been burnt with us.

No-one, save Aro of course, even knew we had a sister named Isabella. Most didn't even know if they had any siblings at all, most human memories disappear during the burning, the change, but not mine and Alec's, we forced ourselves to remember Isabella, for once we forgot, she would truly die.

Heidi's POV

I heard a strange noise, from Jane and Alec's room. I slipped slowly, for a vampire, round the corner, and was suprised by the scene in front of me. Jane, the pain-maker, was dry sobbing. And Alec was comforting her, was it topsy-turvy day?

Jane started speaking, queitly, even for our kind. "I miss her so much. It was our fault she died. We could have run. Then they wouldn't have got her." Alec rubbed her back and made soothing noises(?). "We saved her, sort of. Even as they burnt us, we wouldn't tell them. Wouldn't let them have the witch triplets, they had to settle for witch twins."

Jane hicupped, "But we weren't witches, not then at least. Papa protected us from them, and then he died and they burnt us. But I would be burnt a thousand timesover if it meant that Isabella could live.

I cept away. I had witnessed what Jane could do when calm, I dreaded to think what she could do when angry and dry-sobbing. I valued my looks, I didn't want them scarred by pain caused by Jane. **(A/N I can rhyme. Again!)**

Alec's POV

We would leave tomorrow, Aro had everything plannned, I don't know why Seattle was so important but it brought back too many memories, Seattle was less than twenty miles away from where we used to...live. It would be harder for Jane than it woud for me, the girls were always closer, for the obvious reason. That, and I was actually allowed to play with them.

Our powers reflect how we feel, felt, in our family. I was the protector, wanting to keep us from the horrors I knew surrounded us, Jane wanted others to feel how she did, she wats to be understood, loved. Isabella, I don't know. WE never will. But all she wanted in life was to please her family, and be just like may have been the same age, but Isabella was definately the youngest of us, in personality, she was just a little girl, a child. But then, we all were.

Well, it was now or never.

**I think this chapter is good, and it makes sense in my own wierd brain. Please R&R.**


	5. Seattle and Emily

**This is set two months after the last one, group sent from Volturi have not acted yet.**

**Chapter Two**

Charlie's POV

I was reading the morning newspaper, the Seattle killings were getting worse; Seattle terrorized by slayings, it read, I was eating while I read, so not all of it went fully in, but I caught most of it...39 linked homicides...no pattern...18 women and 21 men...killing for no reason other than to kill...bodies have been carelessly dumped...Acceleration...something hideous is stalking Seattle.

Things like this made me glad I wasn't a police officer any more **(A/N, Charlie gave up his job to look after Bella**), but I wouldn't give up Isabella for anything in the world.

She came down the stairs quickly, fully dressed and ready to go out. "Charlie, I'm going out to Seattle with Jake and Emily." I opened my mouth to speak, but she was out the door before I could say anything.

All I could do now is wait.

Isabella's POV

It made me feel bad when I did things like that to Charlie, and I wanted to go back inside to apologize. But then I would guilt myself into staying with him, and I really wanted t see Emily, as she was the one who found me, and rescued me. Jake is Charlie's friend's son, so I saw him quite a lot, and we were pretty good friends. In some ways he was more of a child than I was.

Emily was waiting for me. I felt sorry for her, as she had been mauled by a bear or something and had three long scars down her face. She was married as well, so I felt safe in her company. Some habits just die harder than others. When I meet new people, I think, would Jane and Alec like them, then I decide what to do depending on that.

This would be my first time out of Forks or La Push. I was ready to face the big wide world.

Emily's POV

The girl, Isabella, was coming up the road now. It was a warm day, but I could see her shivering. Was something wrong with her? As she came closer, I saw she was not shaking with cold but with fear. It came to me why. She terrified of shopping.

Isabella's POV

As I sat in the metal contraption, I was praying for the torture to end. I felt like I was going to be sick, I had seen these before, but I assumed they were some kind of creature, not hollow beings that we sat inside. I couldn't do this. I needed to go home. But in Seattle, maybe I could look up about Jane, and Alec. Maybe I could find where they were buried. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would give me a sense of closure.

I sat back and closed my eyes, concentrating on keeping down my vomit. THe journey seemed to drag on for hours, but finally, it stopped. I ran out of the contraption, a 'car' Emily calls it, and into a bush, then promptly threw up. I recieved a few stares from strangers, so I did what Jane would do, and stared straight back. They seemed unnerved, and kept on with their daily life.

We headed to a dress shop first, Emily seemed determined to buy me some new clothes, and as I would not allow her to buy me trousers, she had to settle for dresses and skirts, not that she minded to much I don't think, I'm a doll to her sort of, and she loved every minute of it. I begged to go to the book store afterwards, I could not read, but I knew what I wanted and I could get Emily to look for it for me, Jake had slunk of somewhere, after giving Emily a supposedly secret look (i.e, he did not notice I saw it).

It was getting dark by this point, so what does Emily have to do. Go and lose the 'car' keys. How were we supposed to get home now. She decided we should walk home, it'd only take about half an hour, not long t all. The problem was we had to go through a load of dark back streets, Emily was more cautious than me, I knew only what Charlie had told me, this isn't what I'm used to, people hurt other people for no apparent reason. Like I don't already know that, but that's the thing, no-one I've spoken to has managed to get anything about my family out of me, they believe I am repressing them, bad memeries or something, but I remember Mama and Papa and Jane and Alec in such clarity, for me its been six months since I last saw them, for me at least.

Riley's POV

I saw them before they saw us, two girls just walking down the back streets at night, I know we shouldn't but V...nearly spoke her name, but _she_ wouldn't ever know. The new-borns needed to drink, but we also needed to boost our numbers. Drink one, change one? That'd make sense. The twenty or so of us hid in the shadows until they were almost next to us, then we saw four blurs, three blond and one dark-haired. Volturi, _she _promised. Now we didn't stand a chance in heaven, or hell.

**I think it's cool, what do you think. Am currently sleep-eprived, but worth it. PLease R&R. Sorry if Emily is slightly (or more than slightly) OOC. BUt to be fair, we don't see or read about her very often, so we don't know what's she's truly like. Is there is no Cullens, I needed an Alice charactor, so I picked Emily randomly.**


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